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| Academics are focus of annual decathlon |
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| Written by Maddy Houk / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Wednesday, 30 January 2008 | |
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At a glance
Each school day since August, a group of Patterson High School students has cracked the books about Civil War history.  Team Unity: Patterson High School Academic Decathlon coach Aaron Wheeland hands out uniforms Tuesday that local decathletes will wear during Saturday’s public Super Quiz competition, which focuses on the Civil War. Photo by Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator Students prepare themselves for tests in literature, economics, art, music, math and science, an essay test, an interview and both impromptu and prepared speeches, topped off by the Super Quiz, an in-depth look at a specific subject. Saturday’s public Super Quiz will focus on the Civil War. On Tuesday morning, the Patterson High team answered a series of questions during a practice Super Quiz round. Lyndzie Garro, 16, said she hasn’t gotten much sleep lately, but she feels ready for the challenge. “The math is easier, because I’m more experienced,” said Lyndzie, who is in her third year on the team. “We’ve studied the Civil War in U.S. History class, but to me it’s kind of boring because I’m not a history person. I preferred the Super Quiz about China last year.” The public may attend Saturday’s Super Quiz event and awards presentation at Enochs High School in Modesto. Students have seven seconds to mark down the correct answer as each Civil War question flashes on the screen. The questions get tougher as the competition goes on. First, the varsity teams will answer questions at the school’s gym. Then, come the scholastic teams, followed by the honors teams. Another local third-year competitor, Mandeep Singh, 16, is counting the days until the competition. “It’s very competitive now,” Mandeep said. “Mr. (Aaron) Wheeland has made it very competitive this year. We can actually feel the competition looming on us — it’s only three more days now.” She said this year’s topic is easier because it is more specific about dates, times and places than past topics. Jacob Priester, 15, said it is his second year on the team, so he has learned what to expect. “I like the Civil War better, so I’m interested this year,” Jacob said. “I didn’t know last year what I was getting into. Now, I’m more comfortable, because I know what to expect.” Wheeland, the school’s second-year academic decathlon coach, took over after teacher Kit Chaney taught the class for five years. For the second year, Chaney will be a proctor for the Super Quiz, checking the Patterson team’s answers on Saturday. Wheeland said Patterson placed seventh out of 14 schools on the Super Quiz last year and 11th out of 15 overall. This year, he hopes to see the team better those scores. “I know how it works, because now I’ve been through that all one time,” Wheeland said. “I’m still apprehensive about the experience — not for me, but for the students. We’ve been putting most of our emphasis on the Super Quiz.” Students have worked with a study packet provided by the Stanislaus County Board of Education for the past four months. The 10-subject decathlon, co-sponsored by the office and the Gallo Foundation, promotes interschool competition in academics and is supported by contributions from businesses and individual donors. Fifteen schools will compete alongside Patterson. Oakdale High School has won the county decathlon the past seven years and has gone on to state competition each year. This year, the county winner will attend the California Academic Decathlon State Finals in Sacramento from March 7 to 10. 2008 Patterson academic decathlon team
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